Rising Conservative Feminists Aren’t Stupid

Posted by Janet Hinz

Have you read my colleague Donna Trussell’s recent post titled The New Stepford Wife Party, Starring Sarah Palin (Also Gidget)? Donna is not the only writer who is skeptical of modern conservative feminists. With all due respect to Donna, I find them insulting and quite honestly, I’m offended.

First, let’s explain the references because maybe you don’t know what the Stepford Wives or Gidget are. The Stepford Wives is a 2004 remake of a 1975 movie by the same name based on a very popular novel. The original novel and movie had tremendous impact on American culture. The remake was a failure despite featuring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick. Perhaps because it didn’t resonate with modern audiences. Gidget was a classic TV show in 1965 starring Sally Field who most people know today as either the matriach on the TV show Brothers and Sisters or her popular Boniva commercials to stop and prevent bone loss.

I am a political conservative and just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I’m stupid or unenlightened. Don’t underestimate and don’t belittle us. I am fully aware that neither liberals nor conservatives have a monopoly on the truth.

Probability rather than certainty is the province of argument after all. I am against abortion on demand but I’ll listen and give you the benefit of the doubt. If you craft your argument on abortion well enough, you might get me to consider something I hadn’t previously considered. That’s a victory even if you haven’t persuaded me to change my position.

So you don’t get the power of Sarah Palin and you can’t fathom how people would rally around Christine O’Donnell. I’ll grant that they aren’t Ivy League educated women nor did they make millions of dollars before age 40 by inventing the cure for cancer while helping make sure no child in America went hungry. It would be nice if they had of course.

Karl Rove attacked O’Donnell shortly after her primary victory in an interview with Sean Hannity and questioned, “How come it took nearly two decades to pay her college bills so she could get her college degree?” This criticism doesn’t deter supporters because many people can relate to having a difficult time paying back student loans and to meeting the goals they set for themselves. After all the New York Times reported on September 13 that the latest data reveals the student loan default rate is up 7 percent.

I’ve got a few months before I reach 40, but I haven’t met those goals yet either. Should I just shut up then? I admire that these women go on despite their less than perfect resumes and are so passionate about serving their country that they are willing to subject themselves to such hateful media scrutiny.

They are powerful feminist politicians. Yes, I understand that the feminist adjective makes many liberals cringe.

My colleague Luista Lopez Torregrosa’s wrote recently that “conservative women like Jeri Thompson and Sarah Palin and Christine O’Donnell…are now forging their own brand of feminism and speaking out like progressive feminists have been doing for so long.”

Feminism is not a political party distinction. Women’s roles in the workplace have greatly changed over the past 40 years. Particularly in today’s economy, many women are now the primary bread-winners in homes across America.

Today’s women have many choices. Some work full time outside of the home, many opt to be stay at home parents and still others do a combination of both. And some choose to go into politics. The fact that we have these choices is a credit to the women’s liberation movement. The reality that there is still such an inequality of pay between men and women is why feminism is more important than ever.

Rather than marginalize the free-thinking women who embrace conservative thought and disagree that abortion is fundamental to feminism, these modern conservative feminists embrace the ideal of promoting respect for women, equal opportunities and equal pay. And guess what? We’d love to vote for a woman who reflects this line of thinking.

These rising conservative American feminist politicians aren’t going away. Isn’t it time we took them seriously?

Today on Critical Thinking in the Real World

Posted by Janet Hinz

We’ll talk about the dangers of rushing to judgment without critically thinking. From the BP Gulf Oil Spill to allegations of racism within the Tea Party and USDA, people rush to vilify without getting all the facts. We can’t legislate critical thinking, but we can require it of ourselves and those we elect.

Please join the discussion on the Facebook fan page, call 877-864-4869 and share your thoughts during the show, listen live from 1:00 to 2:00 pm CT at http://www.toginet.com or later via podcast .

Please join the discussion. We’ll talk about the dangers of rushing to judgment without critically thinking. From the BP Gulf Oil Spill to allegations of racism within the Tea Party and USDA, people rush to vilify without getting all the facts. We can’t legislate critical thinking, but we can require it of ourselves and those we elect.

Why Do We Still Focus on Gender Rather Than on Qualifications in Politics?

Posted by Janet Hinz

After the recent Tuesday primaries across the nation, it appears that a record number of women are poised to emerge as political victors. Wins by many women are cause for celebration, aren’t they? Some are angry that qualified candidates are still distinguished by their gender. If this is such a remarkable fact, isn’t it a sign that feminism has far to go?

The truth is that women are poorly represented in American politics. The 111^th Congress included a record number of women. Ninety-five were women, but only 21 of those representatives were Republicans.

While some argue that the Republican Party has historically neglected to support and elect women, it seems that the Tea Party has really attracted many conservative women.

Let’s not forget that Hillary Clinton was a strong candidate for President in 2008 and Sarah Palin had an energizing effect on the McCain campaign when he asked her to run with him as Vice President. Both women are feminists, yet they are from different political parties.

Sarah Palin has been frequently using the word feminism in recent speeches and it’s drawn some controversy because she doesn’t share the traditional feminist’s views on abortion rights. Many argue that pro-life feminism is the future.

Conservative feminism is not an oxymoron. Feminism is not a political party distinction.Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s feminism became synonymous with man-hating, bra burning and abortion rights. That is why many modern women have been so reluctant to embrace the term. Feminism has evolved.

Women’s roles in the workplace have greatly changed over the past 40 years. Particularly in today’s economy, many women are now the primary bread-winners in homes across America.

Still, there is a vast discrepancy between the amount women and men earn. According to an April 20, 2010 article, Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men? in Time magazine by Laura Fitzpatrick, “U.S. women still earned 77 cents on the male dollar in 2008, according to the latest census statistics. That number drops by 68% for African Americans women and 58% for Latinas.” This impacts most American families and it is not something that can be necessarily legislated.

Today’s women have many choices. Some work full time outside of the home, many opt to be stay at home parents and still others do a combination of both. The fact that we have these choices is a reality due to the women’s liberation movement. The fact that there is still such an inequality of pay between men and women is the reason that feminism is necessary.

Rather than marginalize the free-thinking woman who disagree that abortion is fundamental to feminism, modern feminists embrace the ideal of promoting respect for women, equal opportunities and equal pay. It does not preclude a person from being a feminist.

There is a rising pro-life sentiment among American women and it cannot be ignored. Feminism is not a party distinction.

Public opinion polls are often taken to measure the pulse of Americans and this new sentiment has become evident in polls. According to Colleen Carroll Campbell’s Washington post article, “Pro-life feminism is the future” from last month, “A 2007 study from Overbrook Research tracked the abortion views of women in Missouri, considered to be a bellwether state on such issues. Researchers found that the share of Missouri women identifying themselves as ‘strongly pro-life’ rose from 28 percent in 1992 to 37 percent in 2006, with the ranks of the ‘strongly pro-choice’ shrinking from about a third to a quarter of Missouri women. This pro-life shift was even more pronounced among young women.”

Campbell’s article also sites a more recent study. A May 2009 Gallup Poll, “proved that, for the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995, a majority of Americans now identify themselves as ‘pro-life’ rather than ‘pro-choice.’ Gallup found a significant rise in the percentage of young adults who believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, from about one in seven in the early 1990s to one in four today. Eighteen-to-29-year-olds are now tied with seniors as the group most likely to favor the outlawing of abortion.”

Feminism no longer has the negative connotation it once did. Today’s feminists don’t hate men, they love them and want to co-govern, co-work and co-parent with them.

Women have made great strides in the home, workplace and public eye. Yet, politics remains clouded by a male bias which critical thinkers should be able to see past.